Wednesday, May 30, 2007

"Hypermilers"? HA!!

There's an article on the AP today about drivers who take extraordinary measures to get good fuel mileage:

Hypermilers slow down and save, by Chris Williams. (Read it HERE.)

Some of their notions:
"Accelerate gently when the light turns green."
"Coast down hills to save gas."
"Avoid jackrabbit starts, avoid stop-and-go-traffic, anticipate lights."
"Slightly overinflate tires to cut rolling resistance."
"Coast with gasoline engines off."
"'Draft' like race cars behind larger vehicles."

Chuck, a computer geek out of Lewisville, TX, says, "I do as few accelerations and brakings as possible to get up to speed and maintain it."

Laurie can coax 57mpg out of her 47mpg (EPA rating) hybrid, and says "You see a little more," since she drives below the posted speed limit.

Anybody who's been a transportation cyclist will get better gas mileage when driving, IMO. After all, you've learned about that "as few accelerations and brakings" and all that other stuff long ago, since you provide your own accelerating power, rather than just tromping on the gas pedal.

I say, "57mpg? That's pathetic!"

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find gas mileages laughable, too. I'm in the group that thinks that 100mpg isn't at all unreasonable. Of course, I think infinite mpg on a bicycle is quite natural, too...

Anonymous said...

Somewhat reminicient of a previous article

http://bikenazi.blogspot.com/2007/02/save-gas-dont-brake.html

The future of vehicle propulsion will not be measured in MPG but Miles Per Charge(electric) or Miles per P.S.I.(air) http://theaircar.com/

Pouring liquid into a tank will be a thing of the past.

Bikeboy said...

If somebody came out with the notion of a gasoline - powered car as a brand-new thing in 2007, the safety nazis would never let it stand.

Imagine! Common ordinary citizens pouring something as volatile as gas out of a tap, and into a tank! It's likely one of the most dangerous things most people do on a regular basis.